Black Dahlia
by Burning 'Til There's Dark Blue
Summary: Part 1 of the Project: Antivenom story. You can always fight; it's instinct. For a long time, I thought the fighting had finally ended, that I could find some peace with Alice. But in the blink of an eye, everything changed. A/J
1. Prologue

**Preface**

**Disclaimer: **Twilight isn't mine. Nothing is. Sob.

**Song For Preface: **_Nothing Else Matters, _by Metallica (Alternate: _My Black Dahlia, _by Hollywood Undead)

* * *

She was mine.

He had no right to do what he did. Sure, he was a brilliant man. Not many could design a chemical formula to cure vampirism. But still, he could have asked if we wanted to be humans, instead of releasing that stuff in what looked like a Vexxon container. Instead of killing off so many vampires. Instead of the mass murder…

If only she hadn't been so determined to go back inside. If only he hadn't seen her face, turned the canister on, filling the room with that noxious purple gas that smelled like opium and sour peaches. Maybe if I had made her come with us, she'd be safe.

Now she's screaming and I'm holding her, trying to calm her. But she's in so much pain, she can't hear me. Crying out, begging me to change her, to save her. Tears streaming down her cheeks, leaving ribbons of water.

And half of this was my fault.

Alice Cullen was dying in my arms.

* * *

**A/N: **Kaley's birthday present.

Okay: I have one chapter typed, aside from this. One chapter is half typed. I have...11 of the 25 chapters written in my notebook. It'll take a while. Bear with me here.

And listen to the songs.


	2. Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

_I feel I've lived so long, and went through so much, that all I want is calm and rest._

~ Moshe Dayan ~

*~*~*

Alice is having fun.

I sit on a branch in the old oak tree, a mile from our new home, and watch as Alice leaps from one tree to another, as graceful as a ballerina. She lands delicately on a high branch in a nearby cedar, and then daintily hops down to where I am seated, a few yards away. Smiling, the pixie lays in my lap, looking at me with sparkling topaz eyes. The picture of innocence, if it wasn't for her rapidly changing emotions.

"Alice, hon, that makes you look like a spider monkey." I say, playfully pulling her closer. She smirks, her eyes glinting, then leaps out of my arms like a cat, landing on a tree branch 25 feet below us – I am about 60 feet in the air – and gives me a "come and get me" grin, that for some unknown reason she absolutely loves torturing me with. I leap down, landing right below her, and I look up to see her standing proudly. There is sudden mischievousness in the air, and she smiles evilly.

"What are you doing?" I ask, somewhat concerned. She jumps, looking similar to a mountain lion, throwing herself at me. We tumble to the ground, with momentum equal to that of a semi going at 60 miles an hour down a hill, crashing through tree branches at a ridiculously rapid pace. I land on top of her, in what would be a very awkward position if not for the fact that she's technically my wife. She disappears, sprinting through the trees, and all that is left is the breeze from her evaporation, and the grass blades quivering. I jump up and I'm soon on her heels, shouting in wordless gibberish. Calculating the distance, I jump again, and I catch up, leaping and tackling her on the front lawn of our house.

She rolls over, now pinning me down, so I quickly pull her in a headlock. She retaliates by seizing my arms and flipping me onto my back. Contrary to how it most likely looks to outsiders, we enjoy our little rendezvous.

Lying on the ground, I manage to grab her wrists and pull her to me. She lands on my stomach, looking mildly dazed. We continue like this for five minutes - until we hear a throat clearing. Both of us look towards the sound. Renesmee's standing on the porch, sketch pad and pencil in one hand, her eyebrow raised, a look of incredulous shock on her face. Alice is extremely embarrassed, that's all I can say. She is on my back, one hand around my neck, another clutching the collar of my shirt, one of her legs somehow over my shoulder, and the other wrapped tightly around my waist. She has her mouth open, about to bite my ear. I have the arm being used as a footrest bent backward, wrapped around her waist and grabbing the waist of her skirt, my other arm holding her ankle, and I am also about to bite her, though I am currently just kissing her wrist.

Renesmee blinks, trying to figure out what to say.

"This looks weird, doesn't it?" Alice asks, caution in her tone. Renesmee nods, taking a step back.

"If you guys are doing something, don't let me interrupt." She finally says, throwing her hands in the air in mild innocence, then turning to walk back in. Alice slides off my back. We look at each other, trying to figure out how to respond to the audience that will probably come outside soon. And to nobody's surprise, it gets worse when Emmett and Edward come out and sit on the porch, staring in expectation.

"What?" I ask.

"We heard from Nessie that you two were having sex, and we wanted to see if it was true." Emmett says casually.

"We were fighting. That's all." Alice would be blushing like crazy if she could. I can tell that everyone's embarrassed now, especially us. An awkward silence fills the air. The entire house and the surrounding area goes dead silent. Further filling the cliché, a lone cricket starts chirping until Alice picks up a pebble and throws it at the poor creature with more force than an NBL star pitcher. The cricket's chirps slowly die down.

"Does anyone else want to go hunting?" Edward suddenly asks, breaking the hush that has fallen over everything, albeit the dying cliché-cricket. In an instant, Renesmee is on the porch in a hunter's crouch, brown eyes sparkling with abrupt excitement.

"Hunting?" She asks, very energetic and curious. I can honestly picture a giant question mark floating above her head, and I wouldn't be surprised if one actually shows up.

Edward nods, not willing to break the silence that seems to have gotten even thicker with embarrassment and confusion and excitement. Renesmee smiles with extreme, inhuman, ridiculous happiness. She dashes back inside, and returns seconds later with khaki cargo jeans, a black Nine Inch Nails concert t-shirt, steel toed boots, fingerless black leather gloves, and a black ski cap with an eagle on it, rolled up to show her face, compared to her old outfit of denim shorts and a white tank top. As quickly as hybrid-vampire-humanly possible she puts her hair under the ski cap.

"Yet when we say to clean your room, it takes you four hours." Edward says in mock astonishment. Actually, it probably is real astonishment, since Renesmee does take forever to clean her room. She has a tendency to get distracted by everything.

"Hey, those are my clothes!" Emmett suddenly jumps up in realization. "Just how tall do you think you are, shorty?" He snaps, now running towards Renesmee, who jumps onto the porch railing, and then onto the roof. They look like squirrels fighting over acorns.

"I am 5'11" and still getting taller. You're only 6'5"!" Renesmee pulls herself up to full height, putting her hands on her hips and smiling triumphantly. Alice grumbles incoherently. She isn't pleased with the fact that everyone is taller than her. She is only 4'10", and it's really good she's strong – for her, at least. For others…not so much.

"Just because you're almost as tall as me doesn't mean you can steal my clothes!" Emmett shouts. Renesmee rolls her eyes and Alice mumbles something about freakishly tall former basketball players.

"Well I can't steal Jacob's…yet. He's 6'10"!" Renesmee climbs higher up the roof.

"Pshhh. 6'10". The world would be so much easier if everyone was short." Alice is grumbling, arms folded, glaring at the ground.

Emmett is climbing onto the roof, obviously determined to get his stolen clothes back. Renesmee climbs to the highest tower of the house, perching on the point, then leaps into the nearest tree. Emmett jumps after her. We stare as the branches crack and the two crash down. Renesmee runs to the garage. An engine revs up, and then a 2010 Mazda RX-8 drives into the yard, onyx paint glinting in the faint rays of sunlight. Renesmee is at the wheel, and Edward finally jumps up, trying to stay out of the way of Esme's car. Renesmee is only 15, physically, at least, and this wouldn't be the first time she stole a car.

Alice sighs, finally frustrated to the breaking point, and walks to the car door, pulling it open. Despite Renesmee's objections, Alice pulls Renesmee out without much effort.

Carlisle chooses then to walk out of the house, followed by Esme, Rosalie, and Bella. He glances at the scene at hand: Emmett sitting on the ground in front of the Mazda after nearly being run over, Edward in a hunting crouch by the door, Alice holding a struggling Renesmee, and me, standing nonchalantly and attempting to have nothing to do with anything. He shakes his head in disapproval, muttering something about "Incompetent teenagers". Emmett stands up, dusts off the grass that is stuck to his outfit, picks up the Mazda as if it weighs as much as a Matchbox toy car, and walks to the garage. Carlisle starts to say several things, but stops each time. Giving up, he simply walks to the garage.

*~*~*

"The beach." Bella says. We are discussing where to hunt, and everybody has come up short. Among the places listed are Los Angeles, the nearby zoo, Mount Rainier, British Columbia, and another zoo.

"Bella, you've already reduced the great white shark population by 80-something percent in the time we've been here. Besides, did it ever occur to you that we're in Portland?." Carlisle says calmly. Why does he always act Buddha-calm?

"I dunno. Seafood sounds pretty good." Alice pipes up, grinning widely.

"We could always go to La Push." Edward suggests, only to be met by glares and a simultaneous "NO!" by Bella and Renesmee.

"Toronto." I suggest. "The grizzlies there taste delicious." Cue the maniacal grin.

"Jasper, you and I both know you aren't allowed there anymore." Esme says.

"_That_ _wasn't_ _my_ _fault_! Those two newborns just _had _to blow up the stadium, _didn't_ they? I was _trying_ to stop them. Granted the fact that half the city was annihilated…" I trail off at the last sentence, clearly not winning. I fold my arms and lean back into the seat, fake pouting. Alice giggles and punches me lightly. I stick my tongue out at her.

The Jeep turns off into a dirt road leading into the forest. I smile as I feel their emotions. There's a feeling as if there's an imminent catastrophe in the air, but it's nothing.

*~*~*

Walking back, everyone is laughing, due to a mild incident with Emmett, Nessie, and a grizzly bear. Emmett's clothes never stood a chance. It's one of the lightest, happiest moods I have ever felt, and it feels like nothing can stop it.

But as we run through the thick to the Jeep, Alice freezes, sudden worry radiating off of her. Her breath stops, and her eyes go wide with panic, slightly glazed over. She is seeing something very different than us, and by her emotions, it must be horrible. Everyone stops in their tracks to look at her, now concerned. With a start she gasps and collapses to the ground, then pulls her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth. I fall to my knees beside her, putting my arm around her shoulders, trying to calm her down. She turns to look at me and grabs my hand, pulling it to her face. I curl my hand into a fist and she puts it against her mouth, her lips on the fleshy crease between the bones of my hand and my thumb.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I ask, trying not to panic, though it's not really helping that Alice is at a state of panic that would send most humans screaming frantically as they ran for the hills. She looks at me, horror in her eyes, clouding her face, the light that was in her golden eyes now gone, replaced by desperation. Looking like she has just been in a torture chamber.

"There's no way. There's no possible way." She says, more for her reassurance than mine.

"What, Alice? What is it? You have to tell us!"

She pauses, sorting through her options, looking towards the ground.

"Alice!" I say once again. She looks up, right at me, and I have never seen her so scared before.

"Antivenom." She whispers.

*~*~*

**A/N: **The first chapter! And… the only one that's on my computer. Which means that now I'm gonna have to start typing up all the rest…crap.

Okay, the songs I listened to for this chapter were _Angel On My Bike, _by The Wallflowers, and _Intimacy, _by The Corrs (I won't kill you if you haven't heard of them. They're not American)

I only got 1 review for the last chapter… so how about 5 for this one. Please? I know that at least 5 of you have this on story alert. Not to mention those of you who have me on author alert!


	3. Chapter 2: Moment of Panic

_Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks._

_~ Mark Twain ~_

_*~*~*_

Renesmee is next to us in an instant, her hand on Alice's shoulder. Alice nods, shuddering under our touches. Edward's eyes widen, and instinctively he moves closer to his daughter, who, despite physically being 15, with an IQ of 215, and the ability to steal anything and everything_,_ is technically only 5 ½ years old. Alice has started hyperventilating. Renesmee gets up and heads to Carlisle and Esme, places her hands on their shoulders, and closes her eyes. Both stiffen as she moves to Rosalie, then Bella, who hisses, Emmett, who looks very P.O.'d, and walks towards me, but pauses.

"I don't know if I should tell you…" she whispers, too low for anybody but vampires to hear. I stare at her, pleadingly, and she steps forward.

First, let me explain something. Aside from being able to say whatever she wants by touch alone, over the months – she grows and matures fast – she apparently inherited Edward's mind-reading, but not as strong. She has to touch someone to read their mind, similar to Aro. Combined with the ability she's had since birth to tell everyone what she's thinking just by touching them, she's nearly omniscient. We've come to expect this now, and Emmett jokingly calls her "Messenger". But even knowing all of this, I don't expect the message she gives me.

It is the window in Renesmee's room that I first see, then the red container on the table. It looks like, at first glance, a Vexxon container. There is a dark silhouette there, the light coming from behind him making his features sharp and dark-looking. He presses a button on the container and the room starts filling with purple smoke that smells like opium. I suddenly realize it is Alice's point of view. A wave of excruciating pain hits. This catches me in more shock than before – there is rarely any feeling in Alice's visions or Renesmee's messages. I know it is from the vision, but I try not to wince at the feeling, similar to the venom burn over 160 years ago. Alice – in the vision – falls to her knees, looks at her hands. The diamond facets disappear, a peach-pink tinge filling them. She gasps. Everything starts blurring, as if we're surrounded by fog. The silhouette walks forward, grabs Alice's wrists, and smiles.

Renesmee pulls away and looks at me apologetically. I stare at Alice in fear, then pull her as close as I can, holding her as she hyperventilates, more scared than I have ever seen – well, felt – _anyone_ be.

"Worse…than Jane…" she whispers. I cradle her head in my arms and she leans against my chest, shuddering all the while.

"Alice, shh, it won't happen. I won't let it." I mutter, and it sounds almost like a lullaby. Then I look at Renesmee.

"How long?" I ask. She places her hand on my shoulder, and for the first time I notice the rising moon outside the window, the calendar on the wall, the digital clock that reads 9:15 P.M. The vision fades into numbers, looking more like the binary code for computer programming; Renesmee is calculating. Finally, I see the answer.

"One hour, two minutes, six seconds, thirteen milliseconds and twelve nanoseconds." Renesmee says. "The man knows where we are, who we are, _what _we are. It's his goal to change every vampire – or half-vampire, for that matter – into a human, for 'testing.' He was in Italy three days ago. He was looking for the Volturi. I'm surprised they didn't stop him, but then again…" Renesmee reads Alice's visions to us, like a person reading a letter out loud.

"Can we run?" Carlisle asks.

"No, he's a very rich and very intelligent man. He'll be watching the airports, the gas stations, anywhere our names could turn up – and somehow he's found out _all _of our names, not just the ones we use publicly. He'll try and get the other covens, the other families, the nomads. There is _nowhere_ safe. I wouldn't doubt if he has an army." Renesmee is continuing to translate for the nearly catatonic Alice, whose wildly spiking emotions are giving me whiplash. I briefly wonder if she has bipolar disorder.

I pick Alice up – she seems to be in shock – and begin walking back towards the Jeep.

"He's up against an army of vampires, one half-vampire, and possibly werewolves. He won't stand a chance." I say firmly. Carlisle looks at me. I feel like I'm forgetting something that's most likely important.

"But he already got to the Volturi…" Alice whispers and I figure out the link. If the Volturi had captured him 3 days ago then he wouldn't be coming here. He wouldn't have survived.

"Guys, we should probably go to the house!" Renesmee's panic sends her voice into a shout. "We have to get there before he does!" Everyone finally realizes the intensity of this man's strength and we spin, sprinting towards the Jeep. Somehow the worry is making us clumsy – now there's something I never thought I'd say – and we struggle to get into the Jeep Wrangler. Emmett, Carlisle, and Edward manage to all fit in the front seat; Alice, Renesmee, and I push past them into the back seat; Bella, Esme, and Rosalie are stuck outside, standing on the fenders and wheel walls. Not making sure that everyone's there, Emmett slams on the gas pedal and the Jeep quickly hits 145 miles an hour. In less than 30 minutes, we manage to skid into the front lawn, and I feel Esme's disapproval at having the yard destroyed by all the mud.

I pull the door open and drag Alice and Renesmee out, looking momentarily at the fading light of the sunset that casts everything into a ruby-orange tinge. Suddenly I realize that Carlisle is talking. Maybe I should have payed attention…

"Pack everything you own and put into one of the cars. Emmett will take his Jeep; Rose gets the M3; Edward gets his Volvo; Alice gets her Porsche; Jasper gets the Ducati, Esme and I will take the Mercedes, Bella gets the Ferrari, and Renesmee gets the Mazda." Carlisle orders, and everybody scrambles. Edward raises an eyebrow.

"Don't you think that some of those cars are just a tiny bit ostentatious? Not many people have Porsches or Ferraris, or BMWs and Mercedes for that matter. And I know that most people don't go driving around on giant silver Ducatis!" He looks at me upon saying t he last sentence. I sigh and run inside.

Alice is already in our room, and before I can do anything she pulls out her blue suitcase and throws it at me. I put it on the bed and open it. She is pulling random clothes off of hangers and throwing them at me as fast as she can. I can barely get them into the suitcase before she throws something harder, like a shoe, at my head. She glances at the clock, panicked.

"15 minutes!" She shouts, grabbing another handful of clothes.

"How close is he?" I ask. Alice closes her eyes, searching through the visions.

And then freezes.

*~*~*

**A/N: **Woot! I have…10 chapters written in my notebook! I'm so proud of myself. Only 12 more to go! Haha. Okay…I only got 2 reviews for the last chapter…but since I'm nice…and since 325 people read this…I want 325 reviews. I'm being dead serious. Every single one of you must review. I don't care if it's only to put a smiley face. 325 reviews. I'm expecting an overflowing inbox when I check my email.

Songs: _Brothers on a Hotel Bed – _Death Cab For Cutie, and _Lullaby – _Creed.


	4. Chapter 3: Useless Preparations

_Hiding places there are innumerable, escape is only one, but possibilities of escape, again, are as many as hiding places._

_~Franz Kafka~_

_I have not yet begun to fight!_

_~John Paul Jones~_

"He's in the garage!" Alice hisses. "So much for running!" With that, she begins cursing.

"Alice!" Esme and Carlisle both shout. They can obviously hear her language. Alice is now saying things that you rarely hear out of gangs, bars, biker groups, truck stops, street fights, robberies, Screamo music, and various other related things.

"Why not just say 'Baka' and get it over with?" I ask. She doesn't hear my question – well, she does, but she chooses to ignore it. I think she's categorizing what she says, though; right now she's calling the guy a pervert, to say the least. I can hear Renesmee laughing. Only she would laugh while facing death. Finally, I grab Alice's shoulders and cover her mouth.

"Alice, cussing out the guy in every language you know won't help anything." I hiss into her ear. She pauses, then suddenly sprints away to Renesmee's room, where I can hear her packing.

"Jasper, run!" she shouts from the other room. I run into the room and seize her arm, forcing her to stop packing. She spins around, glaring at me with her brilliant gold eyes, panic and fear widespread on her face.

I have never seen her that afraid.

"Alice, I looked for you for 90 years. There is no way I am leaving here today without you. You're the only one I've loved, and I'm going to do anything to protect you from this." I put my hands on her shoulders, trying to convey the meaning. She looks at me; indecision, fear, anger, pain, sadness, and worry all fill her eyes to the brim.

"Jasper…" her voice is the only thing I can hear. I pull her close to me, holding her in my arms, the only place I want her to be right now. She intertwines her fingers with mine, and we run downstairs. We meet up with everyone in the living room.

"He's in the garage." She, Edward, and Renesmee all say at once, their voices monotonous. Carlisle looks angry, for once. "He's looking at the cars, wondering when to go. He's thinking…it just went dark. No, the door opened. He's walking…he's going to go to the house!" the three say simultaneously, strangely monotonous albeit for the ending. Alice tears out of my grasp and runs upstairs, shouting about barricades.

"You guys leave!" She shouts as she gets to the top of the stairs. "Take the Jeep and drive up to Seattle. Find Jacob and leave Nessie there. I'll take care of this guy." She shouts. Nobody moves.

"Go!" she shouts, and her voice is such that everybody except me runs.

"Alice, I'm not leaving." I say, my voice taking on that strange monotone.

"Go, Jasper! I'm fine." She orders firmly, then runs into Renesmee's room. I stay still, unsure of what to do, and then I quietly run upstairs, freezing outside the door. Outside I hear the engines revving and the cars driving off. Knowing my family, they'll park at the very edge of the property…and another sound, the sound of a frantic heartbeat, harsh breathing, sending a flash burn through my throat…Alice's steady breathing…

I stand outside the door, which is open just a crack, and watch. Alice stands in front of the window, her feet spaced apart as if she's bracing for impact, hands curled into fists, the breeze from the open window blowing her already disarrayed hair around her face. Her breath remains steady, and I can feel the self-sacrifice in her emotions. The light from the sunset comes in through the window, streaming through the leaves outside, the light refracting once it reaches her skin and causing her to sparkle, the rays shattering off the invisible diamond facets in her skin, casting rainbows on the wall.

And then the rim-lit silhouette climbs through the window, holding a red canister. He is wearing a black business suit, his mouse-brown hair slicked back, looking as if he's going to a hospital to work as a doctor. Casually, he walks towards the nightstand and put the canister onto it.

"Patient number 57." He says in a cold, sharp bass voice with a hint of sarcasm. He looks at the canister as if it's a newborn child.

"You better thank me. This is going to save your life." He says in a mocking tone, then presses a button on the side of the canister and the air fills with the nauseatingly sweet scent of opium.

*~*~*

**A/N: **Gyaah. Cheesy Romance crap. I can't believe I wrote that.

You guys don't understand the meanings of "325 reviews" and "Story stats", do you? I was being dead serious when I said 325 reviews. And yet again, I don't care if it is a smiley face. Or better yet, just use the asterisks (*) as stars and rate me from 1 to 10, 10 being the best story you ever read. I'm serious. I need the criticism. You can flame me, you can cuss me out, you can shower me with praise – JUST REVIEW!

So anyway, I have decided to do something else - hold a contest or two for this story.

Check out my profile to see the contests.

**Songs: **_Runaway – _Linkin Park; _Wish You Were Here – _Incubus


	5. Chapter 4: Meeting a Madman

_Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive and I walk alone._

_~Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day~_

_*~*~*_

Instinctively, I cover my mouth and nose with my hands, somehow knowing I shouldn't breathe in the gas, some primal instinct deep in my brain brought to life. Alice gasps, whether in fear or shock, I don't know.

Everything happens at once.

Alice screams, an earsplitting, piercing metallic screech that reminds me of the newborns being torn apart, and falls to her knees, suddenly devoid of strength. I watch in horror, unable to save her. A barrier, whether mental or physical I'm not sure, seems to have sprung up, the survival instinct warring with my common sense, something… Her vaguely sparkling skin seems to dull, as if the invisible diamond facets are turning to chalk, losing the luster. The rapid change in the way her skin appears makes it seem to be rippling. I try to take a step forward, but a sudden blazing on my skin makes me recoil. Alice stares at her hands, breathing heavily, watching the diamonds disappear, and the man steps forward, grabbing her wrists and preventing her from moving. Her next scream is louder, more agonized, than anything I have _ever _heard, worse than watching someone being tortured. She arches her back, as if trying to pull away from the pain, in more pain than I have ever seen. I try to lunge forward again, uncovering my face. The feeling that I'm being submerged in acid is suddenly dominant, and I cover my face again and fall to my knees, scrambling back.

"It's burning!" Her words are barely comprehensible among the shrieks. "Make it stop! JASPER!" I stand in agony, partly from the leftover memory of the acidic feeling, but mostly because I can't save her without the pain worsening. The man lets go of her wrists and steps back, admiring his work…demon.

Alice's eyes, which she had closed tightly as if to protect them from whatever was affecting her…us…so adversely, flew open as if she had been punched in the stomach.

"Ahh…" her gasps are ragged, struggling. "…melting…" incomprehensible words I don't understand. "Jasper…" I hear my name and try to walk forward, when her screams reach a suddenly new level and she presses the palms of her hands against her eyes with ridiculous force, and suddenly I realize that she thinks her eyes are actually melting with the acidic gas.

There is suddenly a frantic new sound; Alice's _heartbeat??? _racing like a death metal band drumbeat, pounding louder and faster than anything. Her skin turns red, flushed with the sudden increase in blood pressure, and then starts fading to porcelain pale.

"Jasper…" more ragged words. "…make it stop." She sobs, in utter agony. The acidic, smoky gas has gone, dissipated in the air. It has to be short lived…like Vexxon. The man smiles, a sneer that I have only seen on the face of one person, and that would be someone I haven't seen in decades – _Maria. _For this man to be as horrible as Maria would take more than I can imagine…yet he is.

"My work here is done." He says, acting like a scientist who has just cured cancer. He turns to jump out the window, and in his leap he knocks the now empty canister – which looks similar to a Vexxon container – off of the table.

Alice gasps, the sound of her heartbeat sounding more like a metronome, steadier, but still at 12:1 speed. She claws at her skin, as if trying to rip something out, most likely the newfound pulse. Hallucinatory. Alice looks as if she's being ravaged by demons, which it most likely feels like to her. She opens her eyes again, and turns to stare at me, and I gasp again. Her eyes have turned crystalline, ice blue, like a lake just barely frozen over in midwinter. The fear and panic I feel from her is reflected in her eyes, making them infinitely deep.

"Jasper…" she whispers, still raggedly breathing. She stands, shaking with the immense effort it takes her, from the aftershock of the pain, and takes two steps, cautiously, unsure…

And then she collapses.

I forget my pretenses and rush forward, feeling a faint trace of the acid in my body, on my skin, catching her before she can fall. Time seems to have sped up, giving me less reaction time than normal. There is another burn in my throat, strangely unlike the craving for blood, but I refuse to breathe, and instead swallow to alleviate the burning sensation. I pick Alice up as if she is made of paper-thin china, gently, carefully, and then run downstairs, out the already open front door, along the driveway, feeling the rush of the wind. Alice's heartbeat has slowed to less than normal, and I'm more panicked than anything has ever been.

The Jeep suddenly pulls into the driveway and I jump out of the way of the suddenly flying mud. Renesmee (what a surprise) jumps out of the driver's seat, followed by Carlisle, who runs towards us. They freeze when they hear her weakening metronomic heartbeat, her breath, which has become as unsteady and ragged as torn ribbons…and then she opens her eyes so briefly, and looks at Carlisle, her eyes so pale now that they look nearly white.

"We have to get her to the hospital." Carlisle says, and I run to the back of the Jeep. Rosalie is in the back of the Jeep this time and I quickly climb in, laying Alice on the floor between us, letting her head rest on my lap. Rosalie crawls over and places her hand on Alice's forehead. Alice does a sharp intake of breath, air whistling between her teeth.. Rosalie looks at Alice in shock and worry, then realizes something and looks at me.

"You weren't thirsty?" she asks, now in shock; we both know how potent the smell of blood is, and for me not to be struggling to keep from killing Alice is unusual. I shake my head to say no. I don't feel any thirst at all, strangely enough. There is no burning in my throat now.

"The antivenom must have affected you, too. Just not as much." Rosalie says. I have a brief memory of the sharp pain and realize what must have happened; the burning in my throat was reversing.

Alice suddenly cries out, reaching her hand for something only she can see. I intertwine my fingers with hers, and something in my touch calms her.

*~*~*

**A/N: **Holy. Freaking. Crap. That was _so_ hard to write. Kudos goes to Tiny Fragile Pixie Alice for the only chapter review in chapter 3. I know that last chapter was crappy, but you could at least tell me that! Okay, the songs for this chapter were _Breathe No More _by Evanescence, and _She Will Be Loved _by Maroon 5.

Okay…um…if you don't review…then I shall eat your brains. And coming from me this is a serious threat.


	6. Chapter 5: Remembering the Future

_I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future._

_~Heath Ledger~_

_The man for whom time stretches out painfully is one waiting in vain, disappointed at not finding tomorrow already continuing yesterday._

_~Theodor Adorno~_

_Remember you will not always win. Some days, the most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there is, in this case, always tomorrow - after you have done your best to achieve success today._

_~Maxwell Maltz~_

We rush into the hospital and it seems that almost every doctor currently employed is in the ER, waiting with a gurney, IVs, oxygen tanks, and various other things. I am still carrying Alice, but the doctors wheel over the gurney and I have to comply with them. Carefully, I put her on the gurney, and the doctors wheel her down the hall, asking me a million questions. I try to answer, but one seems to keep coming up.

"What happened?"

"I don't _know! _Radioactivity, chemicals, or something! It's killing her blood cells, that's all I know!" I shout.

"How?"

"Why?"

"Where?"

I grit my teeth and try to ignore. Thankfully, Carlisle helps me.

"She came home from college for Spring Break last week and wasn't feeling well; and then today she collapsed. She kept getting weaker but we thought it was just the Flu."

Renesmee places her hand on my shoulder, explaining faster than Carlisle or Edward could have. The antivenom, whatever it is, put inexplicable chemicals into her bloodstream, along with the lingering traces of venom, if there remains any. The chemicals are most likely illegal, and the other doctors will first think that she is on drugs. If they believe that it is radioactivity – and that she has just come back from college – then the chemicals are more easily explained.

"Jasper!" Alice suddenly shouts, eyes flying open. Her now impossibly pale eyes are racked with pain and fear, yet she doesn't look at any of us. "It hurts! Where are you? I can't breathe!" Her sentences turn into shrieks of agony and fear. I feel the ghost tears returning to my eyes, so afraid for her…I don't want to see her in so much pain.

"It's okay, Alice." I whisper into her ear. "I'm right here. You'll be fine." I sense the lie in my words and despite my doubts, I continue to tell her the same things. Alice seems to calm down, but is still hyperventilating. A nurse pushes by me, putting an oxygen mask over Alice's mouth. She gasps, inhaling the oxygen, and the doctors wheel her away. Carlisle suddenly turns to stand between us and the hallway, causing us to freeze. I glance at the sign above the hallway – the Biohazard, Poison, and Radioactivity symbols in succession followed by the words "Hazardous Materials - Authorized Personnel Only."

"Go back to the waiting room." Carlisle says. I try to push past Carlisle, desperate to see Alice, but Carlisle grabs my shoulders, forcing me to stop.

"Jasper, we'll help her the best we can, but you can't do anything. She needs a lot of things only the hospital can give her; blood transfusions, treatment for radiation poisoning – a lot more than it looks like to you right now. And I'm sorry to have to say this, Jasper – the way things stand now, she's probably not going to live. We'll do whatever we can." Carlisle turns to leave. I stand there, completely silent, a red, smoldering anger burning deep in my chest. I know what I have to do.

I turn and walk away.

Edward stands up to try and stop me as I walk out of the hospital, but I ignore him, choosing instead to glare at my Converse as I step outside. It has darkened considerably since we arrived. The streetlights are casting long shadows, which are distorted by the uneven road. The rain has started up, pouring down in torrents, the faint thunder in the distance. I stalk through the streets, my hands in my pockets, thoughts racing.

Alice is human now, and possibly dying. Yet they all expect me to handle this maturely. I sigh in exasperation and look up to the clouds, letting the rain wash down my face. Then I quickly look around, scanning the area with all my senses. There are no humans outside, none who can see me. 15 miles away from the house. I should go back and get the motorcycle. With that thought, I start running. The streets fly by me, every detail crisp and clear. Every raindrop hits the ground separately, within milliseconds of each other. I feel the concrete on my feet, through the soles of my shoes, feeling like the forest floor. Concrete jungle. The city is far behind me now and the road is about to end. An SUV suddenly drives by; Emmett's red Jeep, and I instinctively slow down. The Jeep continues to drive at 60 miles an hour. Nice to know that slowing down means 60 miles an hour. The driver rolls down the window; lo and behold, it is the car thief, Renesmee, who is driving, and the Jeep is empty.

"They said I should leave for now, and to come back in the morning, because apparently I have to 'sleep'!" Renesmee takes her hands off the steering wheel momentarily to make air quotes and the Jeep swerves. Renesmee curses and quickly veers the Jeep back onto the road, then continues to speak, now refusing to take her eyes off of the road. "Alice is better, but she's still in critical condition. Blood pressure's really low, half of her blood is gone, white count is ridiculously high, yadda yadda yadda." She says in her high soprano voice. I suddenly realize in that second how much Renesmee sounds like Alice.

Renesmee looks at me, concerned, and in her momentary lapse of concentration nearly hits a parked black Audi coupe. More cursing. Then she looks at me.

"Jazz, are you okay?" she asks, concerned, and almost hits yet another car, this time a Honda Accord. I shake my head no, then quickly jump onto the running board, grabbing the door handle. As I open the door, Renesmee slides into the passenger seat. I grab the wheel before the Jeep can swerve, jump into the driver's seat, and slam the door.

"We're gonna go back to the house, and you're gonna see if you can figure out who that guy was." I hiss. "I don't trust myself near the computer right now." Renesmee nods curtly. "Go through newspapers, science journals, everything. Look for some schizo talking about vampires or antivenom or radiation or all three of those things. A man like that won't want to keep his mouth shut. And look for reports of someone breaking out of an asylum, or theft in a science lab. Anything!" I swerve around a Mitsubishi Eclipse and turn onto the driveway. We reach the house in 3 minutes. Renesmee jumps out of the Jeep and runs ot the house. I drive to the garage and park the jeep. Another quick glance tells me nothing has been stolen.

Sighing with the feeling of destroyed normalcy, I jump out of the Jeep and walk to my Ducati. That's the only thing that can take me where I want to go right now; to the beach, to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. I climb on, feeling the cold handlebars, and start the engine, reveling in the purring motor. As I drive out, into the night, I can't help but thinking about the first time I saw her…and wondering what would have happened if it had been today. The smell of salt water starts to fill the air and my memories take over.

_The rain is heavy today – it's going to be suspicious if I stand out here. I need to go inside. I step inside the nearest building, an understaffed diner, ignoring the burn in my throat. It's been too long since I hunted. A petite, skinny girl with short black hair is sitting in the far corner, stirring a mug of coffee, and years of fighting make me instinctively tense. But this girl is different… she jumps up from the seat, causing several businessmen sitting nearby to swoon. I step forward, closing the still dripping umbrella, and look around. She walks towards me, the blue dress rustling. I know what she is, but…why does she have gold eyes?_

"_You've kept me waiting a long time." She reprimands, very bubbly._

"_I'm sorry, ma'am." I take off my hat and bow my head. "My name is Major Jasper Whitlock. At your service." I add as a joke. She giggles, very hyper for such a small girl, and walks out of the restaurant, shadowed by me._

"_I know who you are, Jasper…but do you know who I am?" she jumps in front of me, holding the edges of her skirt, curtsying. "My name is Alice…I don't know my last name. And we're going to find Dr. Carlisle Cullen." Such a bubbly girl, talking as if she's known me for years. Smiling, we grab hands and run._

I snap to the present as the road changes, gritting my teeth with nonexistent tears. I remember, so clearly. The most beautiful girl in the world, the most beautiful one I will ever know…

The concrete and loose pebbles turn into a dirt trail. I drive as far as I can, stopping on the turn that hugs the edge of a cliff. It's a hundred feet down to the beach, and another twenty feet to the dark, rippling sea. I climb off the motorcycle and slowly walk towards the edge…

And leap, landing just a few feet short of the water's edge. Not stopping, I rip off my clothes, throw them onto shore, and sprint to the water, diving in. It deepens quickly – the continental shelf is smaller on this side of the U.S., and before long I find myself floating under the surface, a mile away from shore, 50 meters above the bottom of the ocean, thinking…thinking…waiting.

If that man can "cure" vampirism, then the lives of hundreds – ha, lives – are at stake, can immediately affected. But does he even know the pain it causes? I shudder at the memory of the acid burn, and my mind flashes to Alice the last time I saw her, the ice blue eyes filled with fear, gasping for air. I smile, suddenly realizing how much of a stroke of luck it was that we went hunting. The blood she drank, from the animals she hunted, is filling her veins, letting her live, but it's not substantial. _Blood transfusions. _Carlisle was right. To flush out the diseased blood of the animals, fill her veins with human blood. But if there's one thing I've learned, humans can live, as long as there is enough blood, enough oxygen, as long as they aren't dying of something else. I break the surface of the now placid water, gazing at the clearing clouds, sighing.

Something causes the water to move beneath me. I turn to look. A shark. Well, I might as well figure out if Bella's claims of 'seafood' being delicious are right. I dive backwards, doing an underwater backflip, into deeper water, seizing the shark. The shark feels my hands and tries to bite me. Its teeth shatter on my arm. Not risking another attack, I bite down on the shark's neck and immediately the blood courses into my mouth. It is so strange, like nothing on land, nothing I've tasted, colder, different proportions of the chemicals. Now I see why Bella and Alice love what they call 'seafood' so much. Red Lobster bought out by the Cullen family, turned into Grey Shark. Ha. The shark is slowing, the blood running out. In less than a minute, I drain the last of its blood and abandon the body, emerging from underwater. There is a faint glow on the horizon. I sigh. Wait…Oh, crap, Renesmee! I swim back to shore, leaping onto the beach, grabbing my now sand-covered, torn clothes. Good thing no one's out here. I pull on the clothes and begin to scale the cliff. My motorcycle sits there like a people-watcher. Not pausing, I jump on, rev the engine, and drive away.

By the time I get back, Renesmee is on the front porch, listening to her iPod – Hollywood Undead by the sound of it - in one of the white oak chairs, holding a stuffed manila folder in one hand and a steaming cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee in the other. She jumps up when she sees me.

"Making me drink coffee." Renesmee shakes her head in disapproval, even though everybody knows that is the only human food she actually likes. "His name is Michael James Johannesson. Wow, Jasper. You're soaked – and you smell like saltwater and seaweed." She says, throwing the folder at me as I jump off my bike.

"I was hunting." I say casually. "To get my mind off of things."

"Underwater?" she says in disbelief.

"Do you know of any species of shark that walks around on land?" I reply…then I notice her emotions, slightly fallen.

"Nessie, what's wrong? Is Alice…" I refuse to finish the sentence, too worried to remember my earlier predictions.

"Carlisle called a few minutes ago. They had to give her seven blood transfusions before she was stable, and then she was pretty much normal. But here's the thing, and please don't be mad. They ran a million tests and x-rays. Carlisle kept saying it was to see if there were, and I quote, 'adverse side effects from the radiation' unquote. But with all the x-rays, how could they tell? Point is, Jazz, the antivenom worked. She is human. None of us know how or why, but she is. We can change her back without trouble, but she must be in shock. She refuses to let anyone near her, not even Carlisle or Esme or Bella. And she starts screaming her head off if the human doctors come near, something about knives and bullets. If they leave her alone, she'll just sit on the bed with her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth, saying your name over and over. That's all she will say. Carlisle said to go to the hospital as soon as you got back. I didn't know where you were or what you were doing – though know I know you were hunting sharks. Just wondering, did you ever find out what was wrong with Alice the first time she was human?" Renesmee rattles off like an auctioneer. I stare. She has said more in the past 30 seconds than she ever has in her life. I blink, then grab her wrist, dragging her to the garage.

"Rose already came and got the Jeep." Renesmee responds to my thought. I spin around on my heel and drag her to the motorcycle. She opens up one of the saddlebags and pulls out a red helmet, just as I put on my own silver helmet.

"I don't get it. If we're virtually indestructible, what is the point of the helmets?" Renesmee asks, climbing onto the seat behind me and trying not to fall as she grabs my ruined t-shirt.

"It's more inconspicuous if they can't see who we are." I explain. I look up; the clouds have returned, and are already almost covering the pale dawn of the sky. Renesmee sighs loudly, and I rev the engine yet again, fishtail the bike, stirring up a cloud of dust, and drive away from the crime scene.

*~*~*

**A/N: **Wow………….I should get like a million reviews for that effort. And you guys remember the contest, right? Anyway, the songs for this chapter: _Remember Tomorrow _by Iron Maiden, which I found ironic, and _Wash Away Those Years _by Creed. Though there's probably a million more…if you guys think of any, send me music recommendations!

Anyway, book recommendation! _100 Cupboards, _by N.D. Wilson. It's almost as good as _Twilight_. And there's a rhino thingy…with wings.

Please review. I have recently acquired a blowtorch and if I don't get reviews I shall take said blowtorch to Orlando, Florida, and burn down all your cherished childhood memories – AKA Disney World, Animal Kingdom, Sea World, Epcot, et cetera. Trust me, I live close enough to Orlando to do that. Or better yet, I'll give the blowtorch to Sabrina.

Anyway…probably not when you read this, but in the next week, Project: Antivenom now has/will have a Facebook Fan Club. Where you can send in music and videos. Actually, I'll go make that right when I finish typing.

And since Tiny Fragile Pixie Alice (who changed her name but that's still what I'm gonna call her) is sitting there squealing, probably, about the Facebook group, I'm going to go now.


	7. Chapter 6: Insanity Isn't a Diagnosis

_I always had a desire to know asylum life more thoroughly - a desire to be convinced that the most helpless of God's creatures, the insane, were cared for kindly and properly.__  
__Nellie Bly_

_I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.__  
__Edgar Allan Poe_

_In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.__  
__Oscar Wilde_

_The only problem with seeing too much is that it makes you insane.__  
__Phaedrus_

_*~*~*_

Driving up to the county hospital where your adoptive father works, with your obsessive-compulsive hyperactive niece tagging along _will _get you stared at.

I park the motorcycle and Nessie and I climb off. Everybody in the parking lot is staring at us. I pull off my helmet and put it on the handlebars, and begin to walk away. Renesmee mirrors me, but the helmet has flattened her hair. I ignore the stares and walk to the door, with my "shadow" following close behind. The nurses turn to watch as we enter the hospital. A smiling nurse who I don't recognize walks up, the grin on her face looking as if it will tear it in half.

"Hello, Mr.…um…" she knows me, somehow…it's frustrating. I hate it when people know me and I don't know them.

"Hale." I respond. "Jasper Hale." I hear Renesmee snicker and mutter something about _Quantum of Solace _and James Bond.

"Ah, yes. Dr. Cullen's son-in-law! How could I forget?" She continues her false smile. Renesmee mumbles that I'm not Agent 007.

Rosalie comes out of nowhere now, runs up at a human pace, and hugs me way too tightly. She's worried…aw, crap. What happened this time that I should probably know about but I don't?

"Jasper…Alice won't talk at all. She's pretty much catatonic. You have to go see her!" Renesmee refuses to release me from the bone-crushing hug.

"Rose…you're crushing my ribcage." I try to say, but due to the fact that I'm being crushed, am having trouble saying. Rosalie finally lets go of me.

"Where is she?" I ask. Rosalie simply grabs my wrist and begins dragging me down the hallway. Renesmee continues her shadow-like behavior and follows us, jogging to keep up with me and Rosalie's rapid walking pace – or more specifically, Rose walking while dragging me along. She drags me to the elevator and presses one of the buttons. I stare when I see what floor we're going to.

"Level 4? Why are we going there? That's for…" I begin, but am at a loss for words.

"The mentally ill people, I know. But when somebody starts claiming that there are words written on the walls-" cue Renesmee's humming UnderOath "-then there really isn't a choice." Rosalie says. I roll my eyes at the human's incompetence.

"Couldn't that be from the drugstore's worth of narcotics, though?" I ask.

"The lithium and the Prozac, and probably all that radioactive removal junk, but they don't know what to give her, henceforth, they have diagnosed her as insane!"

"Insanity isn't a diagnosis, Rose." I compare the two drugs. Lithium pretty much numbs you, causing you to feel like you're underwater – don't ask how I know, ask Renesmee about her curiosity. Prozac makes you feel like you're in your own movie, detailing everything strangely, making you want to say yes to everything. "Well, of course it's not gonna work!" I suddenly shout, speaking to myself. "The two are contradictory! What about opium?" I quiet down as the elevator opens.

"Jasper, what is wrong with you? Opium is illegal…" Rosalie begins.

"To _normal _citizens, yes, but it's used occasionally as an antipsychotic slash antihallucinatory drug." I explain. "And since when have we been normal, law abiding citizens?" Rosalie sighs as we walk down the hallway, and then stops in front of a random door. Carlisle has signed his name on the chart.

"Okay, Jasper, since it's my fault you're here, I'm gonna let you see her, but there's no guarantee she'll recognize you, or if she does, if she can even talk, much less hold a conversation." Cue even more of Renesmee's humming. Rosalie sighs and opens the door.

Alice is in the far corner of the room, sitting in a chair, looking at the ground. Bella is talking – no, pleading – with her to talk. Everyone else is scattered across the room. They all look up when me, Rose, and Nessie walk in. Bella steps away from Alice as I walk over.

I get down onto my knees next to the chair, looking at Alice in concern. Not knowing what will happen if I touch her, I put my hand on the back of the chair.

"Alice?" I ask. My voice is the only sound. Alice is holding herself, mouth moving as if she's speaking, but she's remaining completely silent, her eyes closed. At the sound of my voice, however, her eyes fly open, and she looks right at me, her eyes even more brilliant, icy, and pale. You can barely see the irises now, they are such a pale blue, but the pupil has darkened to complete onyx. The only comparison I can make is the eyes of a blind human. But she can see me, perfectly clearly. She reaches out, puts her hand on my cheek, and I can feel the reflexive tension at the temperature.

"Are you okay?" I am whispering now. She stares, fear still in her icy eyes. Then before I can speak again, she jumps off the chair and tackles me, the momentum knocking me backwards. She hugs me more tightly than I thought a human could, crying profusely. I hear my name, tangled among the sobbing.

"Alice, shh, it's all over now, they won't hurt you again." I hear her sobs slowly begin to subside. Quietly I begin to hum to her; the song _Lullaby, _by Creed, another one of Renesmee's favorites. With as little force as I can, I pull her closer, rubbing her back as if she is a newborn baby human.

"Jasper." She mumbles. "It was burning me – they were burning me. It hurt. I was on fire and they wouldn't put it out. And there were words on the walls, but nobody could see them. They told me there were no words. Then there was more burning…and they took me here."

I hold her head and she whimpers, the noise of a half-asleep infant child, both of us feeling more safe.

There is a knock on the door and at the same time Edward groans loudly, putting his face in his hands. Everybody - except for me and Alice - turns towards Nessie, and then the door.

"How many of the wolves did she invite?" Edward hisses. The door opens, answering the question. Jacob, Seth, and Leah walk in. Jacob and Leah are very tentative, but Seth bounds in, hyper as always. Renesmee walks towards Jacob and hugs him tighter than necessary.

"So, any explanation here?" Jacob asks, ruffling Nessie's hair. Nessie grabs his hands, eyes closed, focusing. I know exactly when she shows him the vision, because he growls, deep in his chest. She lets go, and Jacob takes a step towards Alice and I, almost instinctively. Protectively, I lean over her, pulling her closer to me, glaring coldly. But Rosalie's sudden shout brings me out of my protective state.

"Holy crap, Jasper, look at your eyes!" Yes, Rose, because _looking_ at my _eyes_ makes so much sense! Realizing what she has just said, she pulls out a mirror – as to why she has one I do not know – and hands it to me, and I can now see the source of her shock. My eyes are greenish-blue tinted now, clearly, but the gold is there, like a background color. I look back at Rosalie, wondering what the explanation can possibly be.

"How much antivenom was there?" Rosalie asks. I open my mouth to speak, but Renesmee says everything before I can. I tune it out, hearing only Alice's heartbeat, her breathing, every movement in the room. It's as if me being there is that drug they were looking for, stronger than lithium or Prozac. Carlisle sees this, and so does Edward. Carlisle walks out, probably to get a different doctor, and Renesmee walks back to Jacob, letting him hold her. I don't understand their relationship. It's some psychosocial imprinting magic crap. They don't see anyone else. I worry about them, and what would happen to Renesmee if – and when – Jacob dies.

A doctor comes in, probably the psychiatrist, and he immediately looks at Alice, who is holding the front of my shirt, sitting on my lap, as I sit on the floor. He smiles, and I sense a vague familiarity. Alice's grip tightens on my shirt. Where have I seen him?

"Hello, Alice. I see you're feeling better." He says in a suspiciously soothing voice, but for some reason I hear a mocking tone…where the hell do I know him? Alice takes a deep breath, frightened inexplicably. I kiss the top of her head, letting my lips rest there, breathing in the scent, watching the man.

"Are there still words on the walls?" He asks. Alice is brimming with fear and I can't calm her down. That's nice to know. She shakes her head, and as quietly as possible asks me to kidnap her right then and there and take her out of here.

"Don't worry. I can get him to see my way." I whisper to her, not moving. "But I need to stand up." Alice reluctantly gets off of my lap and we both rise. She insists, though, on clinging to my arm. Quickly, I note several things; that the doctor's name is M.J. Johannes and that he's the toxicologist – that's not coincidental at _ALL_! Sarcasm. The cure for insanity. – but I can see that he looks like the silhouette. I clear my throat and stay as calm as possible.

"Dr. Johannes, I think it's in the best interest of everyone here if Alice comes home _immediately." _I stress the syllables. "She's gone through a lot in the past 12 hours, and I think she should recover _at home." _I say, continuing to make my point as clear as possible, glaring at the doctor. He looks at us, back and forth, then to Carlisle.

"Yes, that probably would be the best option." He finally says. I smile, resisting the urge to throttle him.

"Well, in that case…" I pick Alice up, bridal-style, and walk out the door. Alice lays her head on my chest.

"Jasper, how is this even possible?" she whispers.

I can't answer.

*~*~*

**A/N: **_(sighs dramatically) _Wow…and I still have to write half the chapters in my notebook! At least there are 5 I can type while I write those. Sigh…stupid procrastination. The next 2 chapters are slightly less…um…what's a good word…well, they aren't as strange as before. (They're grocery shopping).

The songs for this chapter were _I'm Bad, _by The Last Vegas, and _Unwell, _by Matchbox Twenty. Bonus points go to whoever can figure out what songs Renesmee was humming!

Anyway, there are two members on the Facebook group. One being _me. _The link is on my profile. Go join the group! And the contests are still going on. SO ACTUALLY START PARTICIPATING IN THIS CRAP!

Okay…if you don't review…you'll be forced to listen to Gabby's singing. Review. I was being dead serious a few chapters back when I said I wanted everybody who reads this to review. I COMMAND YOU TO REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 7: Vampires Can't Grocery Shop

Wal-Mart and Publix have to be the two most dangerous places in the world aside from wherever I happen to be, so let's hope I'm not in one of those places.

_~Anonymous~_

We walk to the Jeep and there is a sudden plethora of arguments regarding how we're going to get 12 people, 2 cars, and a motorcycle out of the parking lot. I can easily take my motorcycle, but I don't think Alice is fine with riding it and I don't want to leave her.

"Okay, Seth and Leah can take the Volkswagen. Jacob and Renesmee can take the bike." No! Carlisle, what are you thinking? Leaving Jacob and Nessie together, _with my bike? _Well, at least the argument is over, which I'm proud to say I spent sitting by the Jeep with Alice sitting on my lap. Jacob nods in approval, and the wolves – plus Renesmee – depart. I silently pray that my bike won't be harmed. Carlisle opens the back of the Jeep. I climb into the back, pulling Alice in after me, and sit in the corner. I think this Jeep is getting smaller. It wouldn't surprise me. Alice simply stares out the window, ignoring the claustrophobic Jeep, looking deep in thought. The Jeep starts, and we begin passing through the suburbs, by a million or two Wal-Marts, give or take.

"Carlisle, don't you think we need to get food? For Alice?" Edward suddenly asks. If that isn't a random question to ask after a near-death experience I don't know what is. Carlisle nods and Emmett swerves onto the next road, turning ridiculously fast. I barely manage to keep from getting hit in the head with a random air freshener that happens to be in the back. What is with Emmett and putting such strange things into his cars? Alice looks at me for an explanation and I shrug, not sure what to say.

"Should we let her choose what to get?" Esme asks. I stare. First off, why am I being ignored, and secondly, who in their right mind would let Alice into a supermarket? She won't know what to get. She'll probably buy something ridiculously absurd and turn it into something even more absurd. But I don't have time to say this because Emmett pulls into the supermarket parking lot – driving over the curb and grass – and parks in two spaces. I groan quietly, hoping no cops happen to be within a 20-mile radius right now.

Alice jumps over the back of the Jeep before the Emmett can even turn off the engine. I quickly follow and grab her arm before she can get too far.

"Whoa! At least wait for me before you attack the poor innocent supermarket workers." I scold. Everyone else gets out of the car. Sometime around then I realize that Alice hasn't spoken since we left the hospital.

It might just be paranoia but I look at Edward for answers. He shakes his head in confusion as well.

"Alice, are you ever gonna talk?" I ask. She shrugs as we begin walking towards the automatic doors. As we walk in, I see her eyes light up. Good God, this will not end well at all. My mind races with the possibilities of what will happen. Thousands of dollars on groceries, overdoses on sugar and caffeine, not knowing which of this stuff is actually edible – and I'm sure most of it isn't – accidentally hitting poor 90 year old ladies on the head with one of the lawn chairs they have at the top of shelves, starting riots…

Edward starts snickering and I turn to glare. He laughs harder as my thoughts drift to the manslaughter of everybody in the store using tacos.

"Shut up, Edward. You can't say that couldn't happen!" I hiss. Edward's laugh returns to a snicker. I roll my eyes and take a quick look around, thinking of all the possibilities. Taco shells used as knives, cookies being set on fire and thrown at people's heads, ice cream cartons being used as hammers. I force myself to stop thinking about it as Edward begins to lose his mind.

Alice looks around, grabbing a shopping cart. Gritting my teeth, I reluctantly walk up to join her in this stupid quest for food, which is not going to end well.

*~*~*

"Cornstarch is edible, right?"

"Somewhat."

*~*~*

"What about horseradish?"

"Uh…no."

*~*~*

"Prune juice?"

"No."

*~*~*

"Broccoli?"

"Yes."

"Really? But it's green."

"Most vegetables are."

*~*~*

"No, Alice, bleach is not edible."

"But it smells good. I'm still gonna get it."

*~*~*

"Or Windex."

"I'm going to buy it anyway."

*~*~*

"Are you serious? Rat poison?"

"Nope, I'm not serious."

*~*~*

"Okay, you've said no to pretty much everything I've said so far. Hopefully I got this one right."

"What?"

"Is fettuccine alfredo edible?"

"YES!"

*~*~*

"And bread?"

"It depends."

*~*~*

An hour and a half later, we finally escape with three shopping carts filled to overflowing with food, bleach, Windex, and cornstarch. I glare at Edward.

"I told you so."

Alice smiles and continues to put massive amounts of junk food and fettuccine alfredo into the back of the Jeep. As predicted earlier, we have a $1,210 grocery bill. I walk over to help her with the groceries, then spot something. I hold up the miniature jar in mild shock, then turn to stare at Alice.

"You bought Gerber baby food?"

Edward loses it. He and Emmett start laughing harder than normally possible. Alice snatches the jar out of my hands.

"There is nothing wrong with baby food."

"When you're a baby, yes, but when you're an 110 year old vampire who looks 19…" I shake my head in disbelief. "I feel like I'm talking to a kindergartener in the SLD class, no offense intended."

"That's nice!" Rosalie says sarcastically.

*~*~*

"Good grief, how much fettuccine alfredo did you buy?" Emmett is in shock after about the 27th box of fettuccine.

"Approximately $40 worth." I mumble.

"Just a couple dozen boxes." Alice replies nonchalantly. Emmett and I stare.

"A couple dozen." Emmett echoes.

"At least nobody died…yet." I mumble. Edward struggles not to laugh. Alice suddenly looks up from the piles of grocery bags.

"Can we go to Toys R' Us and play dress-up now?"

I blame the inventor of the Rubix Cube.

*~*~*

**A/N: **I had fun writing this. Jasper finally gets to relax and he's still tense the entire time. Poor Jasper.

Songs: _If I Had A Million Dollars, _by Barenaked Ladies, and _One Headlight, _by The Wallflowers.

Contest Update: There is none.

Group Update: Still me and Nicolette (the biggest fan of this story).

Other Updates: Okay, I'm almost done writing the first half of this story – on the computer, at least – and I need to know whether the second half should be its own story. If so, what should it's name be?

Review Threat: I shall force you to solve a Rubix Cube if you do not review.


	9. Chapter 8: The Sudden Revelations

_The art of life is to live in the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God Himself._

_~Emmet Fox~_

_A search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable._

_~Antonin Scalia~_

"Jasper!" a tiny little voice shouts. I pull the pillow over my head, trying unsuccessfully to block it out. Seeing as I have better-than-normal hearing, it's not going to work. But I refuse to leave this room after the incidents I have just been dragged in to. I shudder involuntarily. So much pink…ugh. I love her, but now that Alice is human, she is very frustrating.

"Jasper, stop complaining about how annoyed you are." Another voice – Edward's, to be exact – travels up the stairs. "We need you to cook." Oh my God, have these people never heard of cookbooks and iPhone apps? That's all they need! Plus, isn't it Esme's job to make sure that Renesmee and Jacob don't starve to death?

"Esme can cook!" I retort, pulling the pillow around my head.

"Not fettuccine alfredo!" Edward snaps back.

"What is with you people and fettuccine alfredo?"

"Alice."

"Just make some ramen and don't burn down the house." I hide under the blankets, pulling them around me. As to why I even need a pillow – or a bed – when I don't sleep, I don't know. Um, actually, I do, but it's kind of confidential.

I briefly wonder why Alice was so scared of the doctor earlier. Sure, he is the crazy scientist's effigy, but they can't really be the same person. It's probably just me overreacting and Alice's drug overdoses. The guy seems nice enough. M. J. Johannes, PhD, the crazy scientist's effigy. But his name sounds so familiar, though. Something tugs at the edges of my mind. I try to figure it out. What am I missing.

Wait…

"_His name is Michael James Johannesson." Renesmee says._

Michael James Johannesson, scientist extraordinaire. Able to create an antivenom strong enough to cure vampirism. Who nearly killed Alice.

The doctor, who is the scientist's effigy. Who scares Alice upon entering the room. Who seems so sure of himself all the time.

Renesmee suddenly runs past the door, holding a cell phone to her ear, speaking in frantic Italian. Okay, I know she's done some strange things, but since when does Renesmee speak Italian?

"Non capisco che cosa significate, Jane. Come può un uomo distruggere l'intera città? Con noncuranza, sarò sul volo seguente in Italia. La pace è con voi." Renesmee is speaking her own frantic, hurried pace, pronouncing everything exactly right. But what does she mean by the city having been destroyed?

The elusive something in my mind finally breaks through; the two names drift together.

I jump up, throwing off the blankets and making a bigger mess than necessary, searching the room, looking for the red almost-Vexxon container. I find it under the bed, behind empty shopping bags, where I placed it early this morning. Seizing it, I leap over the bed and jump down the entire flight of stairs, landing on my toes, still clutching the container.

"Carlisle!" I throw the container to him. "You. Read. Text. Now." I look around the room. "Renesmee, where's the folder?" I shout, frantic from the new revelations that just came to me. Renesmee simply points to the end table, still speaking on the phone with her fluent Italian. Of course the folder is in the last place I will ever look. I pick up the folder with one hand and grab Alice's wrist with the other.

"What the..." she begins, but we're already running to our room. I let go of her arm and she sits on the bed. Throwing the folder down, scattering the papers, looking for solutions.

"Read." I order, already scanning everything in seconds. She holds up a picture to the light.

"It's the doctor." She mumbles. I don't catch what she says at first, or the meaning.

"What'd you say?" I scan the MSNBC and BBC reports of a crazy scientist...and strangely enough, the recent bombing of Volterra, Italy. Hundreds dead, that lying bastard. I am going to kill him a hundredfold.

"The one from the hospital today. The antivenom guy. It's the exact same person." She says. I freeze, half in shock from the death in Italy, and from the meaning behind her words.

She looks at me in concern. "Jazz...?"

I run to the window, throwing it open so hard that the shutters bang against the side of the house, causing several pieces of wood to fall down. "Come on!" I yell at her, grabbing my wallet off the desk and several other items – mainly my cell phone and pocketknife. The scent from the scientist is still there, not as strong, but there. She stares at me.

"I'm not indestructible anymore!" She complains, worried.

"That never stopped you from being an idiot before. Come on already." She sighs and very reluctantly climbs onto my back, her arms wrapping around my neck like a vise. I grab her legs, holding her just tight enough so that she won't fall, and climb onto the window ledge.

"Hold on." I say, and as her grip tightens yet again, I jump, imitating James Bond yet again, and hit the ground running, following the scent. Alice's breath is quick. Poor girl's scared. I feel like I'm walking, personally, but then again I also feel like 007. She clings even tighter as I jump into the same tree that 28 hours ago was almost a jungle gym, and scale it too quickly.

About seven feet from the top, I finally cease climbing and look at the view. 25 miles in any direction, the best vantage point. To the east, the skyline of Portland, shining in the dimming sky. To the west, the faint sounds of the ocean, the faint glow of Astoria, Portland's neighboring little sister. I sort through my oceans and decide the coast is probably the safest place. Nobody will know me in such a small town as Astoria, whereas in Portland I'll be all over the news in a matter of hours.

So I run.

*~*~*

**A/N: Woot! Finally done with chapter 8! And I have an excuse for not updating earlier. My computer was suffering from encephalitis, and while most electronics do not have this disease, mine did. Hence the delay. Anyways, go read my other two stories, Jasper Vs. The Rubix Cube and Toys R' Us Fails at Hiring Managers for some more information about this story.**

**Songs: You're Gonna Go Far, Kid – The Offspring. Holiday – Green Day.**

**Okay, this is unrelated, but I had to sing a solo in front of about 500 people last week, and apparently I'm really good. No tomatoes! **

**Anyway, review, vote for Adam Lambert, listen to the songs, and don't kill me.**

**Oh yeah – this is the second-to-last chapter for this half of the story, and you must now go check out the poll on my profile. Go. Now. Seriously.**


	10. Chapter 9: A Life For a Life

_But if any harm follows, you shall give life for life,, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe._

_~Exodus 21:23-25~_

The waves crash up against the sand. Alice sits on one of the rocks, staring at the sunset. I watch her from the shadows, listening to everything. The seagulls screaming from the air as they search for food. The sound of the waves on the sand. The far-off sounds of the city. Alice's steady, metronomic heartbeat. The sounds of our breathing. A car, two miles away on the road, its driver talking on the phone about his latest business project; something about Italy and venom and worldwide impact and a client in Portla…

Good God, I'm an idiot sometimes.

"Alice." I call, just loud enough for her to hear. She turns her head to stare at me. "I…have to…run an errand. Stay here, don't talk to anyone, no getting into cars and don't go into the water." The last thing I need is for her to get into trouble. She nods.

"Yes, mommy." I sigh. I have no time for sarcasm. And the car is driving away. Without another word, I turn and run, soon stalking the meaninglessly foreboding Lexus, listening to the conversation.

"In fact, I met with a client yesterday evening." The man's voice is strangely harsh. "She's from a good family, sweet-looking young girl…I think her name's Alice…? But she had a tiny bit of an…adverse reaction to the treatment." I am furious beyond words at his nonchalance.

"Bullshit!" I hiss. Client? Yeah right. More like a victim. As far as adverse reactions go, nearly dying could be counted.

My vision is tinged with red as I leave the protective shadows. The man pulls into a driveway, in a secluded section of the Oregon forest. I follow, jumping from tree to shadow in a strange pattern. The garage opens while I am opening an upstairs window, and the sudden light catches me off guard. I slip in the window quickly, tumbling, feeling oddly like an actor in a cheap 1980s spy thriller. Or James Bond. Personally, I prefer James Bond.

The man is humming to himself. _Battle Hymn of The Republic, _by the sound of it. I slip across the floor to stand by the soon-to-be-opened door. Taking a moment to look around, I see a passport, a half-emptied suitcase, and even more of the Vexxon-esque containers. I shudder involuntarily, and freeze as I hear the man come closer.

He walks in, unaware, and turns on the light, walking over to the unmade bed, takes off his shoes and tie. He doesn't see me step out of my hiding place. I glare; I know that black eyes will be more effective. He turns around, still untying the grey tie, and startles when he sees me.

"Dr. Johannes. What a pleasure to see you again." Dr. Johannes is nervous, and I turn this against him, multiplying the fear a hundred fold. "Or perhaps I should call you by your real name. Dr. Michael James Johannesson?" The man turns to see if there's an escape.

As if running will help.

"You nearly killed her." I say in a much darker tone. "You probably would have killed all of us. And Volterra's destroyed. But you're fine with that. You're fine with hundreds of innocent people over there in Italy dying." I mutter. He knows his errors, now.

"I'm…sorry…" he sputters, unsure of what to say.

"No you aren't. Life for life. Even trade, don't you agree?" I walk towards him, unbreathing.

_But if any harm follows, you shall give life for life. _It repeats in my head like a mantra, over and over.

"I'll still kill her. My men can find her." He whispers. "She's nothing to me."

In that moment I lose my self-control and lunge forward, my eyes going red for a brief second before I attack.

*~*~*

I hear the sirens behind me as I slip into the trees. To the cops, Dr. Johannes will appear to have fallen off his balcony, broken bones. Killed when he landed on the metal railing of the downstairs porch.

More like pushed.

Sure, some of the wounds are inexplicable, but that's how everything is.

I walk down the beach until I get to Alice, who has fallen asleep on the sand. Carefully, I kneel down next to her and touch her arm. She jumps, waking up, and looks at me in confusion.

"Jasper?" she asks, drowsily. I smile.

"And who else would it be? Pedro the Muffin Man?" She rolls her eyes. "A magical pink bunny named Carl? Some kid named Charlie?" I continue asking, sarcastically. "C'mon. We should get you to a hotel." Cue cheap romance-movie music.

Alice stands up, and drowsily falls into my arms, covered in sand. She grumbles in exhaustion. Feeling strangely weak, I pick her up and begin walking towards the city.

"Sleep now, Alice. That doctor can't hurt anyone ever again. You can relax." I whisper. The sudden shock isn't what I'm expecting. Alice's eyes fly open.

"What? Jasper…where were you? What did you do?" she asks. I am silent.

"Jasper…" her voice is a growl.

"He…suffered an unfortunate accident." I reply.

"You mean…he's dead?" The tone is accusatory. I stare ahead. "Jasper!"

"Yes, he's dead." I reply monotonously. "I killed him. It was absolutely necessary.

She's confused. "Why?"

Now I can finally say that mantra in my head aloud. "But if any harm follows, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Exodus 21:23 – 25. I would have had to kill every criminal I ever met in order to pay back for the deaths in Italy, but I had to settle for him. I think there's still more people out there though, working for him, and I'm going to find all of them and kill them, too." I reply.

All is silent.

"It's not over just yet."

Alice finally falls asleep and I use that moment to wipe a drop of blood that stayed on the corner of my lips, despite my precautions in keeping this new secret away from her. It'll never happen again. I know it won't. One little slip, but I'm back in control of myself.

In the glow from the city lights, my eyes glow red.

*~*~*

**A/N: And…I'm done with the first book! YAY! The poll results are in, and since most said that I should write the second half of the story as a sequel, I'm going to. Keep your eye out for it. In the grand tradition of me listening to Hollywood Undead more than is absolutely necessary, the sequel is going to be called Paradise Lost (which is a really good song. You should listen to it.)**

**Songs for the chapter: My Bloody Valentine by Good Charlotte, Hammerhead by The Offspring, and (I cheated) Thoughtless by KoRn.**

**Okay, since this story is done…Thank you, I love you all, air hugs, all of you deserve a really big cookie, review, vote for Adam Lambert, and wish Gabby Shibaki a nice warm Happy Birthday. And keep your eye out for the contest winners, the Facebook group, and the sequel.**

**That's all for now. Adios!**


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